1. What is Percentage Change?

Percentage change measures the degree of change over time. It's used to compare an old value to a new value, expressing the difference as a percentage of the old value. This calculation is fundamental in finance, economics, statistics, and many scientific fields.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the percentage change formula:

Where:

• New Value - The current or ending value
• Old Value - The original or starting value

Explanation: The formula calculates what percentage the difference between the new and old values is relative to the old value. A positive result indicates an increase, while a negative result indicates a decrease.

3. Practical Applications

Details: Percentage change is widely used in:

• Financial analysis (stock price changes, revenue growth)
• Economic indicators (inflation rates, GDP changes)
• Scientific experiments (measurement changes)
• Business metrics (sales performance, customer growth)
• Academic grading (improvement calculations)

4. Using the Calculator

Tips:

• Enter numerical values only (no currency symbols or commas)
• The old value cannot be zero (division by zero is undefined)
• Negative values are acceptable for calculating changes
• The result shows both the percentage and whether it's an increase or decrease

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What's the difference between percentage change and percentage difference?
A: Percentage change compares two values over time (old vs new), while percentage difference compares two simultaneous values without time component.

Q2: How do I interpret a negative percentage change?
A: A negative percentage change indicates a decrease from the old value to the new value.

Q3: Why do I get an error when old value is zero?
A: The formula involves division by the old value, which is mathematically undefined when the old value is zero.

Q4: Can I use this for percentage increase calculations?
A: Yes, when the new value is greater than the old value, the result will be a positive percentage (increase).

Q5: How accurate is the calculation?
A: The calculator provides results rounded to 2 decimal places, which is sufficient for most practical applications.